Do You See The Light?
by chaletian
Summary: Draco has always played with the Dark Arts. Now that they have become a reality, the question is not if he can break free, but if he wants to. PLEASE Review!
1. Prologue

**DO YOU SEE THE LIGHT?   
_By Lisette Havilland_**

Disclaimer: Harry Potter etc is not mine. No, really. JK Rowling, Warner Bros., Bloomsbury Books - they all own it. Not me.   
Summary: Draco Malfoy has always been ready to involve himself in the Dark Arts and help with Voldemort's return to power. But now it seems that not everything is quite as simple as he once believed.   
Author's Note: Basically this is me trying to find out if Canon!Draco is redeemable. It will be interesting to see, I think. It's set between Draco's Fifth and Sixth years at Hogwarts. 

Draco Malfoy inspected himself in the sycophantic mirror before him, then nodded in approval. 

"Excellent," he murmured, making a minute adjustment to the stiff collar of his robes. 

"Yes, yes, excellent!" the mirror gushed back at him, but Draco ignored it and walked to the door, swinging it open to find his father standing outside, hand raised as if about to knock. He raked Draco up and down with a critical stare, then permitted a smile of acceptance, and clapped a hand onto his son's shoulder. 

"Come along, Draco! Our guests will be waiting." The two men, so alike in both colouring and stature, made their way down the grand, ornate staircase to the cold marble foyer that was the entrance to Malfoy Manor. Clustered around in glittering groups were the inevitable members of the Malfoys' social circle: artificial conversation wrapped up in expensive clothes and sparkling jewels, bound together by champagne and a common heritage. Lucius moved forward to greet an old acquaintance, and Draco did likewise, as he always did. This was the way to live, he thought, not for the first time. Potter, stuck at Hogwarts all year round; the Weasel, stuffed in a house full of other Weasleys; Granger with her Muggle family: they didn't know anything. This was how wizards were meant to live: better than other people; better than anyone else. Draco grinned inwardly as he shook hands solemnly with Everard Chastain, a doddering remnant from the time of Grindelwald. Over the old man's shoulder he caught sight of Crabbe and Goyle, doubtless attending with their parents, and a sharp jerk of his head had them hurrying over. 

"'Lo, Draco," said Crabbe. Goyle just waved, then stopped mid-wave, looking, if it were possible, marginally more stupid than usual. God, they were thick. He liked them that way, of course, but still - if they had a brain cell between them they wouldn't know what to do with it. Before he could do anything other than greet them in return, Lucius came up with Pansy Parkinson - looking vile in mauve - and her father in tow. Draco noticed that his father was looking particularly jovial about something, then pushed the thought aside as Lucius patted him on the shoulder. 

"And isn't it wonderful to see so many of our younger wizards taking an interest in our affairs, Theodore?" he said to Pansy's father, obviously continuing a previous conversation. 

"It certainly is," agreed Theodore Parkinson eagerly. "And so comforting that they haven't absorbed any dangerous ideas from Dumbledore." 

"Ah. Dumbledore." Lucius spat the name out, his face darkening as it invariably did at the mention of the Hogwarts Headmaster. 

"Dumbledore's an old fool; everyone knows it," chirped Pansy, as if on cue, and Lucius relaxed, bestowing a benign glance upon her. 

"Yes, of course. Only a matter of time, now." And Lucius wandered off again, Theodore clucking behind him, leaving Draco frowning in their wake. 'Only a matter of time.' Only a matter of time before what? The Dark Lord's imminent return to power? The birth of a new order? Fine ideas, of course, but Draco got the feeling that Lucius was talking about something more immediate. And Draco didn't like not knowing what was going on. No, he didn't like it at all. 


	2. Chapter One

**DO YOU SEE THE LIGHT? by Liss Havilland   
Chapter One **

"Friends!" Lucius' voice carried clearly to the outer reaches of the marble room, and the social chit-chat ceased, leaving an almost eery silence in its place. Lucius let it drag on; let the tension grow, a small smile on his face. "Friends," he repeated, and Draco, standing near the back of the room, couldn't restrain himself from rolling his eyes. That was Lucius, always ready to milk the moment. "We are here today because we share the same dream." Yep, it was going to be the 'oh the Dark Lord he's so fine' speech. The one Draco hated, because it made his father look like the chair of the Witches' Institute, or something, only instead of exchanging knitting charms and tips on household magic, they got all cosy about that wondrous future where Mudbloods were no longer accepted; where dark magic reigned supreme; and the superiority of pureblood wizards could never again be questioned.

Lucius talked on, exciting the masses into a frenzy, and Draco tried without a great deal of effort to suppress a yawn. But then Lucius moved onto something new, and Draco began to listen.

"As you all know, the future of the wizarding world lies with our children." There was a hum of approval at this sentiment: even the darkest of dark wizards tended to have a soft spot for his child. "And yet," continued Lucius, his tone becoming dark and impressive, "and yet, it is our children who, in these times of strife, are in the most danger!" An excited muttering grew out of this, which Draco noted with not a little interest. This was definitely new, which begged the question, what was Lucius up to now?

"There is a terrible influence being exerted over our children, and we must make moves now to eliminate it and safeguard their future!" More roars of approval, and Draco almost jumped with the realisation of where this had to be going.

"And it's name…" Lucius paused to extract all possible drama… "is Dumbledore!" The roars quieted; wizards and witches shared hesitant glances, then – somehow – it was as if a wave of approbation spread across the room.

"That's right!"

"Get rid of the old coot!"

"Mad as butter, anyhow!"

The wave spread, filling every corner of the room, until every person present seemed to be waving and cheering, and calling for the end of Dumbledore. Lucius watched with pleasure as the crowd fed on his bile and spite, and failed to notice that one person wasn't quite as moved as one would hope. Draco, in the back of the hall, swallowed nervously, looking around him with something that approached uneasiness. This was a little more blatant than anything Lucius had attempted so far. Okay, so Dumbledore was vilified at every conceivable turn. And, yes, several attempts, with variable success, had been made to get him out of Hogwarts. And, fair enough, everyone knew that, if their proposed happy, jolly life with Voldemort was to go ahead as scheduled, someone was going to have to "do something" about Dumbledore. But up till now, it had all been rather hypothetical. Up till now, Draco had felt oddly secure in the balance of power that existed in his world.

"It is Dumbledore who poisons our children's minds against our great achievements, and plans for the future. Dumbledore who stands between us and a pure wizarding world! That is, until Lord Voldemort triumphs over him." The crowd were too busy cheering to notice Lucius' backpeddle. Draco wasn't. He grinned. That was his father, always eager to stay on the right side of the dark lord. Not that that was necessarily a bad thing, of course. The forces of darkness had a tendency to keep a close eye on their followers, and were renowned for not being understanding when someone changed his mind. Lucius continued his diatribe. Draco wondered if he could maybe slip out and get a drink. Lucius questioned the purity of Dumbledore's forebears. Draco played a couple of mental games of noughts and crosses. Lucius announced that he had a plan that would destroy Dumbledore and his allies.

Draco listened.


End file.
